Party of Five - A game of Po

  ***

  The walls of the Marvelously Rotund and Equivocally Reassuring Grandiose Officious Hall of Endearment were basically rotund and ostensibly too large for the common eye to perceive fully. Yet it was simply one of many similar halls if not in name certainly in capacity dotted around the Naval Intelligence Bureau building in Rampatur City, itself one of many government buildings of varied shape and uniformly huge size to be found in the very center of the city. From the outside, the Naval Intelligence building looked like an even, totally opaque block of granite from which a huge flag of the Human League was unfurled, drooping over the north face, above the diminutive revolving door entrance. It was identical to any other government building and no-one in Rampatur seemed to pay it the least amount of notice, even if everything it shadowed was made cooler. As in, the temperature dropped because of the huge shadow it cast.

  The hall boasted some soft lighting in the form of a couple of hidden spotlights of dubious nature; Ned, Tark, Judith and Parcifal were standing under guard. Four men in full body armor, boasting elaborately ornate halberds that sported some sort of exotic machinery on them were keeping an eye on all of them. The ridiculously colored suit came with a number of silly-looking hats being worn one on top of another, as well as any number of a variety of feathers adorning them. There were also a number of medals and bones hanging from the guards’ breastplate armor. If anything at all, they looked like some sort of very state-of-the-art laughable jokers armed with nonetheless sharp, really bleeding-edge, instruments of death.

  Parcifal stood emotionless, her face stuck in a cold, calculating gaze. Ned was wary; he felt the whole situation was akin to a very tight balancing rope act, without a safety net, with razor sharp spikes waiting on either side of the definitely terminal drop. Tark was looking smug and confident in a very stylish, simple yet exotic suit of black cloth with matching smart pants and soft, spongy shoulder pads that made him look pretty suave. Judith was looking worn out, red-eyed, fidgeting in her tight leather suit.

  In front of them, at what was probably judged to be a safe but not too impractical distance sat the Impromptu Intelligent Committee on Matters of Intelligence Missions Gathering Intelligence and Whatnot. There was even a wooden sign carved with those exact words sitting on a bleak, wooden desk where the members of the Committee rested their crossed hands. They were all dressed in nondescript white robes. Only the older man among them wore a fine-wrought silver chain around his neck from where a small curio hang. Their desk was filled with all manner of scrolls, maps, and papers which were being scrutinized seemingly at random. The sound of shuffling papers reverberated across the gigantic empty space of the hall which appeared to have, oddly enough, excellent acoustics.

  “They’re a bland-looking lot, I have to say,” Ned whispered to Tark, careful not to appear to do so. Unfortunately, the aforementioned acoustics betrayed him.

  “There will be order! Will the familiar alien, citizen status provisional, by the name of...” said one particularly high-browed member of the committee and paused for a moment. “... Ned Larkin, was it?” he asked himself, shuffling through a stack of papers expertly, his voice high-pitched and uncomfortably nasal. “...Remain silent?” he concluded and looked up to Ned with an indifference bordering on contempt.

  “You will be found in contempt if you keep this up,” said another member of the committee, his voice gruff and bellicose. He cleared his throat and a third member, a woman with a saggy, old leathery face added with a snobbish, accentuating falsetto:

  “You should know that this is highly irregular,” said another woman sitting next to the old woman. She was rather younger and firm of face, her voice gentle in comparison:

  “Please, Mr. Larkin, be patient. Your matter is... Strange, to say the least,” she said after finding the right word.

  “Indubitably so!” said the old man who had asked Ned to shut up. “You will be found in contempt if you keep this up” said the man with the gruff voice and the old woman added in what almost sounded impossibly very much so like a chirp, “A highly irregular matter indeed!”

  Tark turned to look at Ned with a smug grin and rolled his eyes, nodding ever so slightly in a comforting manner. Ned simply remained silent; he looked at Judith who appeared deadly bored and tired of the proceedings, even though they hadn’t even officially started. Parcifal stared back at Ned and he could only see the kind of look that meant this was all his fault to begin with.

  “The Impromptu Intelligent Committee on Matters of Intelligence Missions Gathering Intelligence and Whatnot is now in session!” said the older man with a voice infused with authority. “Mr. Maroon will now make his opening statement,” he said and nodded to his colleague, sitting to his left.

  “Thank you, Mr. Prussian Blue,” said the man, shuffling a bunch of papers before clearing his throat. He was the man with the gruff voice.

  “Insofar as it has been deduced from the preliminary report of field agent codenamed See-see-do..”

  “That’s a sharp ‘C’, Mr. Maroon,” interrupted the old woman, her eyes firmly fixed on Tark with a cold stare.

  “Right. Indeed it is so, Mrs. Razzmatazz. According to the data perturbations collected after a summary final exposition to the unary tentative bifurcation matrix, it is our analysis that the mission, codenamed Shining Ogre, was a marginal failure.”

  “Ludicrous!” Tark said erupting in a fit of laughter that seemed quite inappropriate. Judging by the lack of smiles from the committee, they did not seem to share his opinion.

  “The Office of Naval Intelligence had set out specific tasks for operation Shining Ogre, agent. Though according to the Mary Righteous autothaumagator, a great deal of hostile combatants perished and a significant blow was dealt to the infrastructure of the foreign party involved, one cannot simply do away with the fact that the main objectives for this mission were not met. As such, your standing here before this committee has been deemed necessary to explain yourself more fully as to the nature of the difficulties and circumstances that prevented you and your associate to complete your mission to the letter,” said the man identified as Mr. Maroon and cleared his throat, the loud noise amplified by the hall’s acoustics.

  “Indeed,” added Mrs. Razzmatazz coldly.

  “If I’ve learned anything in all my years of service in the Human League, it is that field agents somehow always choose the most reckless course of action and consequences be damned. I would not find it at all strange if your explanation includes these two alien humans in one way or another. I’m also willing to bet a large sum of timeshares that somehow you will try to impress upon the members of this committee that you were acting in accordance to your oaths, for the betterment and guaranteed safety of the citizens of the Human League.”

  “Hear, hear!” intoned Mr. Maroon and Mr. Prussian Blue continued: “While I’m willing to recognize as do my fellow colleagues if our previous meetings are to be of any measure that you have indeed offered a great number of valuable services to the Bureau of Naval Intelligence and the Human League in general, that fact alone does not constitute presupposition for a lenient eye in the evaluation of this case.”

  “Indeed, it does not,” said Mrs. Razzmatazz with a voice trailing with venom. Tark seemed largely unperturbed by what the committee at large was implying. He had the look of someone who had heard similar things in the past too many times to be bothered and was largely bored, though he did try to look humbled and civil about everything. Ned on the other hand was wearing a giant frown: although he felt like no expert in lawyer lingo, the whole thing looked suspiciously like a trial and it looked like that before anything was even going to be mentioned about him and Parcifal, Tark was in deep trouble.

  “If I may,” Ned ventured hesitantly and was instantly overruled by Mr. Prussian Blue.

  “You may not address this committee unless spoken to, Ned Larkin. Failure to comply will result in finding you in contempt, with all due legal penalties applied instantly.”


  “You will be found in contempt if you keep this up,” Mr. Maroon repeated, nodding profusely. Ned resorted to silence once more.

  “Indeed, you will,” Mrs. Razzmatazz said and shot Ned a look that felt like steel needles piercing his eyes. He felt he had to avert his gaze; it was uncanny.

  “Mr. Prussian Blue, may we proceed and let the agent speak?”

  “Indeed we shall, Ms. Rose. You may begin,” the old man said and motioned Tark to speak.

  “What do you want me to say?” Tark said and sighed, looking rather nonchalant and cool about everything. Judith was looking at Tark expectantly, while Parcifal had locked gazes with Mrs. Razzmatazz.

  “Why wasn’t the thaumaturgic containment device mentioned in your report retrieved?”

  “Because it probably blew up.”

  “I see. Why wasn’t the aetheric crystal formation retrieved for analysis?”

  “Because it probably blew up as well.”

  “I see. Why are there an additional eight hundred and ninety-seven timeshares accrued in your expenses account?”

  “It’s what expense accounts do. They accrue expenses, it’s what they’re there for,” Tark replied unfazed.

  “I see. Why did you let those human aliens interfere with carrying out your mission?”

  “If I may, we’re hardly aliens. I mean, we’re not monsters or anything,” Ned said with a lackluster smile intended to look friendly. Instead it looked jarred, disjointed and out of place with the rest of his face. It wasn’t that he was scared of them or that they looked intimidating; it was their officiousness that made Ned feel utterly uncomfortable. Their stuck-up body pose and their intentionally obfuscated language, that was the problem for Ned. Parcifal, on the other hand, seemed to have no problem whatsoever; she looked grim and determined to take on anyone who would try and force something beyond her will. She also seemed to pay no attention to anyone, other than the old woman.

  “That’s it, you’re found to be in contempt of this committee! Mrs. Razzmatazz, please take note that Ned Larkin has been found to be in contempt. The fine is two hundred timeshares, irrespective.”

  “Duly noted, Mr. Maroon,” said the old woman icily and made a scribble on a piece of paper without bothering to take her eyes off Parcifal.

  “Ned feels a bit mixed up about the word ‘alien’. He’s never been to a Human League world before. He doesn’t know. Neither does Lady Teletha, for that matter,” Judith interjected on her own, trying to sound appeasing. Tark shot her a disapproving look and the committee would still have none of that.

  “Ignorance in the face of the law cannot be supported in any case, assistant agent,” Mr. Maroon commented.

  “Neither can malfeasance a priori, your lordship,” Tark commented.

  “We are settling matters a posteriori, agent CiCiDo!” exclaimed Mr. Prussian Blue while Tark scoffed “Could we drop the silly code-names?”

  “Wait, wait. Did he just say ‘posterior’?” Ned asked, feeling a bit shocked.

  “A posteriori, Mr. Larkin. After the facts,” said the younger woman identified as Ms. Rose. She sounded rather nice and civil, in contrast to her colleagues.

  “Ms. Rose, you may not address the alien as a ‘mister’. You will be found in contempt as well,” blabbed Mr. Maroon.

  “This isn’t a tribunal, Lord Trixiparson. You have no sway on me. I suggest we move on to the heart of the issue at hand,” replied Ms. Rose. A couple of gasps echoed in the large hall.

  “I thought this was a hearing,” Ned said eying Tark suspiciously. “Isn’t this a hearing?” he repeated to the members of the Committee.

  “Will the alien please be advised to remain silent until further notice?” said the old man, Mr. Prussian Blue, while Mr. Maroon added, “The fine has been doubled to four hundred timeshares. And you Ms. Rose! Using proper names! Unheard of!”

  “I find this whole debacle rather antiquated and needless. There are real issues at hand and we’re being obsessive with etiquette!” she retorted.

  “Consider what would happen to the Human League if etiquette was to be disregarded as merely going through the motions!” exclaimed Lord Trixiparson and Mrs. Razzmatazz added flatly, “Indeed. Consider that.”

  “We’re wasting valuable time. Lord Kennelsey, please. If you must, consider this a special, extreme case.”

  “We definitely are special. I mean, wait till you meet the rest,” Ned said and laughed a bit on his own. “It was a joke,” he added with a shrug of his shoulders and Tark advised him with a whisper: “They’re dry humorless husks. They’re hardly real people,” he said and Lord Kennelsey addressed Lord Trixiparson without the least bit of emotion in his voice: “Please note agent Cicido has been found in contempt.”

  “Damn acoustics! The name is Augustus! Augustus Tark!”

  “Add a five hundred timeshare fine for violation of the Currathers Apocrypha and Alimentary Act to Mr. Tark,” Lord Kennelsey said calmly while Lord Trixiparson nodded profusely, the pen in his hand flying.

  “You can put it in my expenses tab,” Tark said with a grin. Lord Kennelsey pointed a very calm finger vaguely in Tark’s direction. His inflection and the slight bump in his voice were very telling; he was actually stark raving mad even though he did a pretty fine job at appearing relatively disinterested in the whole affair.

  “Now listen old chap. You’ve wasted hundreds of thousands of Bureau timeshares, gallivanting across the galaxy with dubious results, harbouring a smug attitude against real and proper authority. Your missions always end up in some kind of blunder or shameless explosion. You’re hardly making inroads as it is in what has been deemed to be the biggest threat to Human League sovereignty since the Bourne-Again Shell incident. And you have the audacity, rather, the gall, to make light-hearted attempts at humor at the expense of this Committee?” he said with a deadpan, flat voice.

  “No, really, just put it in my expenses tab,” Tark insisted and Lord Kennelsey’s eyelids flickered in aggravation. He even cocked his head sideways.

  “This is highly irregular, even for a field agent!” Lord Trixiparson yelled, his red hot temper showing in the stuck-up veins on his neck.

  “Indeed it is,” said Mrs. Razzmatazz who was now smiling at Parcifal surreptitiously.

  “Please gentlemen, the enemy is out there!” shouted Ms. Rose and pointed a finger in a vague outwards direction. The guards sprang into action with a loud assortment of cluttering sounds, aiming their halberds at a phantom target.

  “I was being figurative!” yelled Ms. Rose and buried her face in her palms.

  “Guard! Stand at attention!” yelled Lord Trixiparson with practiced familiarity and the guards assumed their previous, mute position with a machine-like speed and precision.

  “Can they play dead as well?” Ned said with a bright smile. Lord Trixiparson looked at him through a half-opened eye.

  “What are you now, a comedian?” asked Lord Kennelsey without the least bit of sarcasm.

  “Actually, he claims he is, though he’s rather bad at it,” Tark said out of turn. Ned looked at him with a furrowed brow full of hurt.

  “Now that’s just too harsh a critique,” Ned said, shaking his head in disappointment, before turning to face the committee. “Listen to this: A dwarf, an elf and twelve monkeys go into a barber’s shop...”

  “By Skrala you will hear me now!” Parcifal shouted on the top of her lungs, demanding everyone’s attention. The echo of her cry had not died down when she spoke again, all the eyes and especially those of Mrs. Razzmatazz for some peculiar reason firmly fixed on her.

  “I am Parcifal Teletha, scion of the Teletha House, Princess Regent and Captain of the Gardens of the Kingdom of Nomos. I am human by birthright and noble by way of my standing among the men and women of my kingdom. I believe in goodness and fairness in all things, and I find you lacking. My sister is missing and she has perhaps passed on.”

  “Now, this is highly irregular ”

  “I am not finished, you
overrated teller,” Parcifal said and gasps filled the hall, yet everyone seemed too shocked to so much as cough up an answer, especially Ned.

  “The horrible Ygg are a scourge and a menace to free beings everyone, and perhaps their machinations have already claimed hundreds of woodkin, two dear friends and my loving sister. I was witness to the power they can tap into, and I know first-hand their death-defying commitment to whatever sick and twisted cause they serve. They’re dangerous fanatics that need to be put down. And here you are, safe and sound, a million miles away, bickering about form, without substance. I find you repulsive, and weak.”

  The committee fell into a shocked silence, gasping without a sound at Parcifal’s brusque calling out.

  “That’s a fair assessment,” Tark said filling in the awkward silence.

  “You speak a fair truth, Lady Parcifal. I wish I could have been so straightforward to begin with. It is always good to be reminded of one’s fallacies and wrongs,” said Ms. Rose and raised herself before she gave Parcifal a curt nod and a slight bow.

  “Preposterous!” cried Lord Trixiparson and Mrs. Razzmatazz added through flaring nostrils, “Indeed!”

  “Bowing to an alien, Ms. Rose! I would have never ” said Lord Kennelsey before being interrupted stiffly by Ms. Rose.

  “These aliens you speak of lent the Human League an invaluable hand in precarious times. Instead of being so detached and uppity about this debacle we should seize the opportunity and make them honorable allies in pursuit of common goals.”

  “Allies?” asked Mr. Trixiparson with a deeply furrowed brow, as if he had never heard the word before. The same kind of confused wonder was in Lord Kennelsey’s voice as well. “Goals?” he said and waved a pondering hand.

  “Weak vocabulary?” Ned said out of turn and everyone afforded him a disapproving glance. The humor was if not that bad, entirely badly timed.

  “I’m willing to forgo the insult to my person and my entourage if you’re willing to aid us in our quest,” Parcifal said sternly but not unkindly to Ms. Rose, who replied without hesitation and a curt nod: “I hope our aid will be forthcoming and beneficial to both parties. May it be fruitful,” she said and Parcifal nodded and bowed in kind.

  “Entourage? Now we’re her entourage?” Ned asked pointing a finger at Parcifal while Judith suggested, “Let her handle this, Ned. She seems to be swinging this your way.”

  “What about my way?” Tark demanded with a somewhat hurt voice. Lord Trixiparson’s voice boomed:

  “There will be order!”

  “There has been too much of that lately, I’m afraid. The Ygg don’t play a fair, orderly game, Lord Trixiparson,” Ms. Rose retorted.

  “There was a point in appointing this committee, which through your frantic disregard for etiquette and proper security guidelines has turned this prestigious intelligence committee into a facade!”

  Lord Kennelsey had exploded; he was acting quite out of character, seething with anger, a flush red color taking over his leathery old face.

  “Ah, nuts! Hell, she’s right,” shouted Tark and pointed a finger at Ms. Rose. Ned didn’t like the way the old man Lord Kennelsey seemed to be taking everything.

  “This is most irregular,” repeated Lord Trixiparson, looking severely heart-stricken while Mrs. Razzmatazz averted her gaze away from Parcifal and in a dramatic fashion stared outwards, as if terribly disappointed at everyone, and especially Parcifal.

  “Indeed. I motion for all charges to be dropped and these people to be given citizen status, provisional, as well as a special dispensation as Naval Intelligence contracted personnel, for an unknown amount of time to be extended or made permanent by a Tactical Hearing of the Intelligence Bureau, a Lord Superior’s Constabulary Notice or a Lord Privy’s Ruling,” Ms. Rose announced to everyone in an officious tone that indicated she meant every word.

  “Lord Privy? Seriously? As in, a john?” Ned asked and Tark thought about it before answering with a nod, “Well, not exactly but you’re quite close. Funny, isn’t it?”

  “I knew you were just being the hard audience type,” replied Ned with a casual, borderline smug attitude while Tark suggested with a wave of his hand, “I was talking about this committee thing, actually.”

  “There will be order on the floor!” shouted Lord Trixiparson, the words reverberating across the hall with a stentorian quality. Lord Kennelsey seemed to be frozen for a few moments, hardly breathing. He contained himself and against his feelings on the matter, obliged to due process.

  “Lady Govida has put forth a motion,” said Lord Kennelsey with a clear, loud voice. “This committee is now hereby officially dissolved,” he said with a feeling of disappointed guilt creeping in his voice.

  “Dissolved?” asked Lord Trixiparson in disbelief, his eyes searching for Lord Kennelsey’s eyes in vain. The old lady known only as Mrs. Razzmatazz nodded, gave Parcifal a last look of feeling lost, and sighed before getting up and taking her leave. “Indeed, what a shame,” she said with disdain.

  “What? This is it? No vote, no decision-making, no time-squandering? No never-ending debates and what not?” Ned asked, and looking around he saw Parcifal was looking just as befuddled, even though one couldn’t easily tell from just her furrowed brow and sharp gaze. Tark and Judith on the other hand seemed quite lacking in surprise, as if the sudden helpful outcome was no surprise to them.

  “This isn’t politics,” Tark said and walked over to where Lady Govida stood. Lord Kennelsey and Lord Trixiparson took their leave as well, their faces shadowed in a grim look of defeat and irritation. Lord Kennelsey wouldn’t take his eyes off Lord Govida his gaze rather unbecoming in a revengeful way and Lord Trixiparson pointed a finger at Ned and told him sternly: “You’re still paying up those timeshares.”

  Lord Kennelsey told Lady Govida with a raspy voice that was as if another, broken, hateful man had suddenly taken his place: “This will not stand. I have friends in higher places than yours, Madame Chancellor.”

  “You don’t strike me as the social type, Lord Kennelsey.”

  “I’ve been playing this game a lot longer than you think, Madame Chancellor.”

  “It’s not a game, really, Lord Kennelsey.”

  “But there will be a loser,” he said vehemently and Lady Govida retorted with an infuriating smile, “The place is yours for the taking.”

  “Oh, trash talking each other, aren’t we?” Tark interjected putting himself between Lord Kennelsey and Lady Govida. The old man had to move his head slightly, trying to maintain eye contact. Tark would shadow his motions, not very much unlike a juvenile child.

  “Field agents! Bah! There’ll come a day your ilk will be the laughing stock of the intelligence world,” he said pointing an exacerbated finger at both Tark and Lady Govida, before turning about and leaving briskly.

  “Wouldn’t want to upstage your kind too soon, old chap,” Tark retorted, smiling to Lord Kennelsey’s back. Pretty soon, the other members of the committee had faded away in the deep, encrusting shadows of the hall.

  “Now that was a nice comeback line, Tark,” Ned said. Tark grinned and replied, “I know. It’s actually older than him,” he said and clicked a phantom trigger in the direction of Lord Kennelsey in a playful, childish fashion.

  “Oh, Augustus, I missed that flippant manner... Those boyish charming looks,” Lady Govida said with a sigh and a blinding smile, her chest heaving up and down with every breath. She and Tark exchanged a fleeting look of discovery, before engaging in a passionate kiss, hands twirling through each other’s hair, their bodies colliding almost awkwardly.

  “Wow. That’s pretty slick,” Ned whispered to himself mostly, genuinely impressed and a bit jealous. Judith cleared her throat beside him.

  “You seem impressed,” she said and Parcifal added with a slight snort, “He’s an impressionable young lad. Aren’t you, Ned?” she said raising a brow.

  “Well, it was rather smooth, turning the tables like that. I mean, we’re off whatever ho
ok we might’ve ended up on. That was some level-headed diplomacy, right there, Parcifal.”

  “You’re good at changing the subject, I’ll give you that. And that wasn’t diplomacy, Ned. That was the bare truth,” she said grimly.

  “Which is a pretty uncertain, quite intangible notion, be mindful of that,” Lady Godiva said, still wallowing in Tark’s arms like a woman madly in love.

  “I’m aware of that, my Lady. I sincerely hope that your interference is rightly justified, and not simply part of an elaborate show, or just a favor to a loved one,” Parcifal said and nodded to Tark.

  “Oh, never mind about Auggie, we can keep it professional when we need to. Can’t we Auggie?” she said and looked at Tark with a sweetly intoxicating gaze. He simply nodded, as if mesmerized.

  “Auggie?” Ned asked in a whisper, to which Judith simply sighed and shrugged. She shook her head and tried to say something, but she was at a loss for words as well.

  “Right, then,” Lady Govida said and pushed Tark away gently with one hand. “No, I meant every word. I think this is a great opportunity to uncover ways to strike at the heart of the Ygg and end that threat before it grows beyond containment into a full-scale war,” she said in a professional, dry manner.

  “Ah, she’s so... Ebullient, isn’t she?” Tark said with a gleam around his eyes and a smile that easily betrayed his emotions for Lady Govida.

  “You two are an item, then?” Ned asked and Tark nodded thoroughly before replying, “Oh, we go back. We do.”

  “Mr. Tark, please. Focus,” Lady Govida told him sternly. “I love it when she bosses me around,” Tark whispered and Ned furrowed his brow, the picture of Tark as the hard-boiled intelligence operative in his mind slowly turning into a dreamy, soft-spoken, love-stricken fool. Something which Ned disapproved off, at least in principle. But there was much more serious talk going on.

  “We need the approval of the House of Commoners, as well as a sponsor in the Lord Privy’s Office before we get anything serious done,” Lady Govida said.

  “Excuse me, is that a real thing?” Ned asked with a bit of hesitation. “What, the Lord Privy’s Office?” she asked Ned.

  “Does that have anything at all to do with an outhouse or something similar?”

  “In a manner of speaking that would be true, but not specifically so. It’s politics, basically.”

  “Time is of the essence here. We need to find my sister, Lady Govida,” Parcifal asked with a gentle, almost pleading tone.

  “As well as the magical bunny and the elf, I’m sure. They seem to be in possession of information that could prove pivotal,” Tark added.

  “What of the woodkin?” Judith interjected and Tark replied brusquely. “That is an entirely different matter.”

  “You’re saying they’re not important, it’s what you’re saying,” Ned said with a sudden fluster.

  “I’m only saying it’s a different thing. What matters, is the crystal,” Tark said, emphasizing his last phrase.

  “You say that crystal was in the possession of the elf, originally?” Lady Govida said with a thoughtful look on her face.

  “His name is Theo. Well, Hanultheofodor, but we call him Theo. What’s so important about that crystal anyway?”

  “The Ygg were drooling over it. They said it could have advanced their designs by decades. Good thing it’s probably blown up in that catastrophe.”

  “Designs like that crystal mechanism in Tallyflop?” Lady Govida said and Tark nodded. “Your report was vague. What was your assessment of that thing?” she asked him.

  “Well it was huge, and made mostly of crystal. It was built with something bad in mind, that’s for sure,” Tark replied. Ned commented with evident sarcasm, “That’s really insightful,” his head bobbing up and down slightly. “Thank you,” Tark replied, the sarcasm lost on him.

  “That wasn’t the only one; we’re getting similar reports from other places,” said Lady Govida with a wary expression. She addressed Parcifal:

  “Lady Teletha, I take it you are a noblewoman from the Kingdom of Nomos.”

  “Princess Regent in exile,” she corrected her.

  “I stand corrected. That sounds awfully convenient. We just received word from Laertia; your home-planet in fact, that is. The Ygg are building one of those crystal machines right there.”

  “Where, exactly?” Ned asked while Parcifal shook her head, not wanting to believe what she was hearing.

  “Nomos, I’m afraid. That’s up north, isn’t it?” Lady Govida said, turning to point at Ned who in turn nodded affirmatively.

  “How is that possible? This has to take precedence over everything. I will not see my people enslaved by these monsters!” Parcifal said angrily, real emotion pouring out from her voice.

  “Calm down now, Lady Teletha. You’re not mistaken; in the morning, we’ll have to secure the funding and means for a full-scale assault on the Ygg at Laertia,” Lady Govida said flatly, before adding with a weighty measure of confidence, “We need to show them our hand; make them understand we do not take ill behavior lightly.”

  “What if you show your hand too early? I’m no expert at cards, but I’ve seen many a folk lose every piece of coin on them when they least expected to.”

  “There’s always a risk involved, Mr. Larkin. Isn’t that right, Tark,” Lady Govida said with a mesmerizing stare.

  “Right,” Tark replied, nodding with a stupid grin on his face.

  “I approve of this course of action, but every minute spent talking instead of acting could prove disastrous!” Parcifal urged.

  “My dear Lady Teletha, I assure you, this thing is unraveling with lightning speed for Human League standards. Could you put some trust into my efforts?”

  “I do not believe there is much of a choice there, Lady Govida,” Ned said out of turn and Parcifal nodded.

  “A perceptive young man. Judith, will you be able to accommodate Mr. Larkin and Lady Teletha as your guests?” Lady Govida said before bowing to both Ned and Parcifal.

  “Certainly, Lady Govida,” Judith said following a curt nod. “If you’ll excuse us,” Lady Govida said and beckoned to Tark with a surreptitious finger, her oddly lithe and supple figure for a woman of her age and authority gracefully hidden under her robes.

  “Should I use the expenses account?” Judith asked Tark, to which he replied:

  “By all means, go crazy!”

  “Well, that’s actually a good idea. With all the stress, and the weariness. We should take advantage of this. Tark certainly will be,” Ned offered. Parcifal shook her head reproachfully.

  “Are you proposing we engage in festivities at this hour? That certainly is a frivolous suggestion. I wouldn’t expect more of you, to be frank.”

  “I’m not frivolous. I’m only suggesting there’s nothing better to do than wind down a bit. Plus, we’ve got a dinner reservation for five, and we need to meet with Winceham as well.”

  “Some good food would be welcome,” Parcifal finally ceded with some reluctance in her voice.

  “And maybe Judith could bring a friend, if she’d like to. I mean, if there’s someone important you’d like to bring along,” Ned offered with some hesitation.

  “I’ve got nothing planned for tonight,” said one of the guards behind them, his voice oddly metallic through his helmet’s visor.

  Everyone just looked at him with a blank stare, as if realizing for the first time he could speak, his fellow guards included.

  “Wot? A man’s got a right to eat. Right?” he said and he really meant it.